The LattePanda Team launched the world's thinnest pocket-sized hackable computer - LattePanda 3 Delta with global electronic components distributors. The collaboration will ensure that the product choice for LattePanda 3 Delta is passed on to customers through quick, easy online selection via the website of global electronic components distributors and LattePanda.

"LattePanda Team is so proud to cooperate with the global electronic components distributors for this joint launch. It delivers an exciting message to our customers that they can gain fast, easy access to our high-performance and hackable LattePanda 3 Delta anywhere in the world. Our collaboration will assure even higher levels of customer service," said Sandy Zhang, CMO of LattePanda Team.

Today, Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), a world leader in mass-data storage infrastructure solutions, announced two additions to its Nytro portfolio, the Nytro 5550 SSD and Nytro 5350 SSD. Engineered with Phison technology for high performance, efficiency, and increased storage density in data centers, the new products comprise the Seagate Nytro 5050 NVMe SSD series. Designed to offer more computing with less energy consumption, they provide a cost-effective solution that eliminates bottlenecks, improves quality of service (QoS), and delivers the highest levels of data integrity and security for business applications.

The Nytro 5350 PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD doubles the read throughput of the latest SAS SSDs, achieving over ten times the bandwidth of SATA to significantly improve QoS. Designed to give data centers more computing power while reducing total cost of ownership (TCO), the drive removes data bottlenecks with blistering up to 7.4 GB/s bandwidth and up to 195K IOPS random write speeds and up to 1.7M IOPS random read speeds to provide consistent response times. Perfectly tuned to increase density and boost capacity in ultra-dense environments, Nytro 5350 brings up to 15.36 TB in a 15 mm form factor and up to 7.68 TB in a 7 mm form factor with dual ports, supporting both U.2 and U.3 interfaces for active-active high availability. Designed to take on enterprise workloads, Nytro 5350 delivers 1 DWPD at 2.5M MTBF for enhanced endurance.

AIC Inc., (from now on referred to as "AIC"), a leading provider in enterprise storage and server solutions, today announced its new product family of mainstream dual socket storage servers. Powered by 3rd Gen. Intel Xeon Scalable processors, these rackmount storage servers are high-performance and designed with high flexibility to support various storage devices. This new product family provides options ranging from cost-efficiency servers to high performance all-flash NVMe platforms and can fulfill wide range of data storage applications from storage tiering, virtualization to cloud datacenters and high performance computing (HPC).

This new product family includes three models, SB101-A6, SB202-A6 and SB201-A6. These dual socket server systems are with AIC server board (codename: A6) that is based on 3rd Gen. Intel Xeon Scalable processors. By leveraging 3rd Gen. Intel Xeon Scalable processors 'great features, including CPU TDP supports up to 270 W, DDR4 memory, PCIe Gen4 ready, built-in AI and enhanced security, the new server systems provide excellent performances and low latency while maintaining the cost-effective benefits. Customers can utilize the enhanced Intel CPU performances, memory capabilities and doubled PCIe Gen4 I/O bandwidth to tackle the challenges in data storage workloads. Besides, the new server systems are designed with universal (tri-mode) backplanes and are able to support SAS, SATA, and NVMe, providing great flexibility for customers to load either 3.5"or 2.5" HDDs/SSDs. With tool-less features, the new server systems can save operators significant amount of maintenance resources, which is crucial for hyper-scaler and cloud environments.

QNAP Systems, Inc., today launched the TS-h1290FX NAS. Providing QNAP's first PCIe 4.0 and U.2 NVMe/SATA all-flash NAS in a tower form factor, the TS-h1290FX excels in the most demanding work environments such as collaborative high-resolution video workflows. Featuring AMD EPYC 8/16-core processors, built-in 25GbE and 2.5GbE connectivity, PCIe Gen 4 expansion, and up to petabyte-scale storage capacity, the TS-h1290FX tackles data-intensive and latency-sensitive applications, such as large media file transfer, real-time editing of 4K/8K high-resolution media, online collaborative workflows, and virtualization applications.

"Modern businesses and studios shouldn't need to dedicate entire rooms to accommodate hot and loud servers, and that's where the TS-h1290FX comes in. Contained within a unique tower form factor and utilizing quiet cooling is exceptional performance driven by a server-grade processor, all-flash U.2 NVMe SSD storage, and QNAP's enterprise-grade QuTS hero operating system," said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP.

For those with older systems, or for those just in need of additional M.2 slots in their system, SilverStone has launched the SST-ECM28 riser card. The SST-ECM28 is a low-profile solution that can house one M-key NVMe drive and one B-key SATA drive, as it allows a drive to be mounted on each side of the riser card. The SATA drive requires a SATA cable to be connected to the rear of the riser card and then to a SATA slot on the motherboard to function.

This isn't the first time we've seen a product that can handle two drives, but it's the first time we've seen one that is as compact as this. The downside is that there's no retention bracket and it appears that the only way to hold the SST-ECM28 is by fitting it into a physical x16 slot that has a locking mechanism for graphics cards, as the PCB has a retention hook, just as you get on most x16 cards. The SST-ECM28 uses a standard x4 PCIe interface, so it will fit in x4 slots as well, with the risk of it popping out of the slot if the system is moved around. Drives of all sizes from 2230 up to 2280 are supported for both SATA and NVMe drives.

Server manufacturer Inventec unveils Mategress, the highest density storage JBOD with 42 SATA drives in a 2U enclosure to meet industry needs while improving efficiency with reduced costs. As demands for storage skyrockets, data centers are facing space and performance concerns in delivering higher quality of service and reliability. Mategress addresses both these issues with its unique high density in a small frame, dramatically reducing the cost for storage centers.

The Inventec Mategress storage server is a standard 2U high rack mount system, supporting 42 3.5" hot-swappable Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA) drives with easy serviceability. It offers a higher maximum storage capacity than other similar products with full redundancy and flexible input/output (I/O) expansibility or expandability.

According to TrendForce research, North American data centers saw an improvement in components supply after February, driving a recovery in purchase order volume. As Server brands returned to normal in-office work following the pandemic, the increase in capital expenditures on related information equipment has also boosted order growth. The addition of Kioxia's raw material contamination incident led to an increase in the pricing of certain rush orders, pushing up overall Enterprise SSD revenue in 1Q22 to US$5.58 billion, or 14.1% growth QoQ.

According to TrendForce, Samsung and SK hynix (including Solidigm) were the top two players in 1Q22. At the beginning of the year, demand from hyperscale data centers resulted in high inventory levels due to component mismatches, leading Samsung's order growth missing expectations. However, as repercussions from the WDC and Kioxia contamination incident hit NAND Flash production capacity in 1Q22, server customers quickly turned to Samsung for additional orders, driving the company's 1Q22 revenue to US$2.77 billion, up 14.8% QoQ.

Many companies, including Intel and AMD, have stopped product shipments to Russia amidst the war in Ukraine in the past few months. This has left the Russian state without any new processors from the two prominent x86 designers, thus slowing down the country's technological progress. To overcome this issue, it seems like the solution is embedded in the Chinese Zhaoxin x86 CPUs. According to the latest report from Habr, a motherboard designer called Dannie is embedding Chinese Zhaoxin x86 CPUs into motherboards to provide the motherland with an x86-capable processor. More precisely, the company had designed a BX-Z60A micro-ATX motherboard that embeds Zhaoxin's KaiXian KX-6640MA SoC with eight cores based on LuJiaZui microarchitecture. The SoC is clocked at a frequency range of 2.1-2.7 GHz, carries 4 MB of L2 cache, 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0, and has integrated graphics, all in a 25 Watt TDP.

As far as the motherboard is concerned, it supports two DDR4 memory slots, two PCIe x16 connectors, M.2-2280 and M.2-2230 slots, and three SATA III connectors for storage. For I/O you have USB ports, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA/D-Sub, GbE, 3.5-mm audio, and additional PS/2 ports. This is a pretty decent selection; however, we don't know the pricing structure. A motherboard with KaiXian KX-6640MA SoC like this is certainly not cheap, so we are left to wonder if this will help Russian users deal with the newly imposed restriction on importing US tech.

Transcend, released its industrial-grade 112-layer 3D NAND SSDs designed with DRAM cache. The outstanding random speeds and endurance are ready to serve the 5G communication and AIoT markets as digital transformation continues apace. Smart infrastructures have been deployed globally, and the demands for IoT, edge computing, and industrial automation heightened. Transcend's storage solutions are expected to satisfy these critical missions.

Transcend SSDs are built with high-quality 112-layer flash memory and a DRAM cache, which temporarily stores data, shortening the data processing time and increasing random read speed. As the data can be accessed on the DRAM cache instead of the flash, the number of NAND flash being written is reduced, prolonging the lifespan of flash memory while increasing the drive endurance. The drives come with a PCIe and SATA III 6 Gb/s interface, covering various form factors including 2.5", M.2, mSATA, and half-slim types. With 3K P/E cycles and capacities of up to 4 TB, the SSDs are capable of working under an extended temperature range (-20°C~75°C). Wide-temperature (-40°C~85°C) models are available to withstand harsh industrial conditions.

For years, T-FORCE, the gaming sub-brand of global memory provider TEAMGROUP, has been releasing a full range of SSDs to meet the various needs of gamers. Today, a new generation of T-FORCE VULCAN Z SATA SSDs has been announced, providing a faster and smoother gaming experience, and is the best choice for those who are upgrading their SATA storage device from a HDD to a gaming SSD.

The T-FORCE VULCAN Z SATA SSD features carefully selected 3D TLC flash memory chips that deliver smooth read speeds of up to 550 MB/s and write speeds of up to 500 MB/s. The transfer performance is four times higher than that of traditional HDD, providing upgraders a completely new gaming experience. The VULCAN Z SSD has a built-in automatic error correction (ECC) feature that greatly enhances the accuracy of game data storage. It also fully supports Windows TRIM optimization commands and utilizes S.M.A.R.T health monitoring technology. All together, these features help optimize the SSD's read and write conditions and extend the life of the SSD so that gamers can keep their precious game data safe and secure.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today introduces their brand new B660M-SILVER motherboard. Top shelf performance packed in a compact uATX form-factor, BIOSTAR's new B660M-SILVER motherboard is ready to take the market by storm. Designed based on Intel's B660 chipset, the B660M- SILVER carries unparalleled compatibility with all the latest Intel 12th gen processors.

Highly suitable for content creators, casual gamers, or as a solid base for a daily driver pc, the new B660M-SILVER motherboard is a jack of all trades, built to cater to a broad use spectrum. Carrying BIOSTAR's signature SILVER range styling and added RGB customizability, the B660M-SILVER motherboard makes any build look special.

For many years, TEAMGROUP has been developing high-quality products for industrial use and automation applications. In response to the growing market for 5G applications, the company this year is focusing on the new market demands of 5G infrastructure, AloT edge computing, and autonomous driving, as well as in-vehicle computing and environmental safety control applications. Today, TEAMGROUP is announcing its 745 SSD Series, which features the 5th generation BiCS NAND flash memory. It's a comprehensive industrial solution that comes with high capacities, low latencies, and high durability for the various application of industrial market.

The TEAMGROUP 745 SSD Series uses the new 112-layer 3D TLC and the latest 5th generation BiCS NAND flash memory, giving it approximately 40% more capacity and 50% better I/O performance than BiCS4 SSDs. This makes it fully suitable for the high-capacity, low-latency transmission requirements of edge computing. To meet the needs of a wide range of industrial applications, the 745 SSD Series is available in a variety of form factors with mainstream specifications, including models with SATA and PCIe Gen3x4 interfaces and capacities from 128 GB to 2 TB, offering the industry a variety of professional options. The 745 SSD Series is also equipped with SLC cache technology, which improves SSD read and write efficiency and supports high AI load for smart manufacturing and autonomous driving, while the AES 256-bit encryption prevents data security concerns and ensures safety and stability of the SSD.

Sabrent announces DS-UCTB 10-Bay 3.5" SATA Hard Drive Tray-Less Docking Station (USB 3.2 Type-C And Type-A) (DS-UCTB). This Sabrent SATA Hard Drive Tray-Less Docking Station enables you to access 3.5" hard drives, without the frustration of assembling enclosures. By inserting a 3.5" SATA hard drive directly into this docking station, you can quickly access drive contents and transfer files. Transfer data quickly and easily through USB 3.2 at speeds up to 10 Gbps.

SMART Modular Technologies, Inc. ("SMART"), a division of SGH and a global leader in memory solutions, solid-state drive (SSD) and hybrid storage products announces the next generation of its DuraFlash ME2 family of SATA SSD products, which includes industry-standard M.2 2242, M.2 2280, mSATA, Slim SATA and 2.5" form factors. These SSDs are available in both industrial and commercial temperature grades and have versions that implement SMART's SafeDATA power-loss, data-protection technology for graceful handling of power fluctuations and sudden power loss events.

The new ME2 SSDs incorporate the latest generation 3D NAND-technology and SMART Modular's proprietary NVMSentry firmware to deliver high performance SSD products with endurance up to one drive writes per day (DWPD) for five years using JEDEC JESD219A enterprise endurance workload. The new NAND device offers better cost per bit over previous 64-layer and 96-layer NAND generations without sacrificing performance and reliability. Further optimization of the NVMSentry firmware also yields enhancements in read and write consistency over wide ranges of application workloads. High performance computing, data centers, networking, cloud systems and many other applications that demand high reliability and consistency over long operating lifetime can benefit from the new ME2 SSD products.

Microsoft officially launched the DirectStorage API on the Windows PC platform, on Monday. The API enables direct data interactions between the GPU, graphics memory, and a storage device, so games have a more direct path to stream game assets to the graphics hardware. The API is compatible both with Windows 10 and Windows 11, although Microsoft is recommending the latter, for "in-built storage optimizations." Also, unlike previously reported, you don't necessarily need an NVMe-based storage device, such as an M.2 SSD with PCIe/NVMe interface. Even a SATA SSD with AHCI protocol will do. Microsoft is, however, recommending the use of an NVMe SSD for the best performance.

There is, however, a wrinkle. Microsoft isn't launching a killer feature of the DirectStorage API yet, which is GPU-accelerated asset decompression. This feature allowed GPUs to use compute shaders to decompress game assets that are stored in compressed asset libraries on the disk. Most games store their local assets this way, to conserve their disk footprint. Without this feature, unless there's special game code from the developer's end to utilize GPGPU for asset decompression; compressed game assets still have to rope in the CPU, and lengthen the pipeline. Microsoft stated that enabling GPU-accelerated decompression is "next on their roadmap."

QNAP Systems, Inc. today launched the new QXP-1600eS-A1164 quad-port external SATA expansion card. Designed for QNAP TL series SATA JBOD, the QXP-1600eS-A1164 is compatible with QNAP NAS, Windows /Ubuntu PCs and servers with a PCIe port. Each SATA lane directly connects to a single SATA drive to deliver excellent transfer performance.

"The new QXP-1600eS-A1164 SATA expansion card doesn't need any drivers and provides a more convenient solution than its previous generation. It can be used with a QNAP TL SATA JBOD for expanding the capacity of NAS or PCs to provide future-proof scalability." said Candice Chiang, Product Manager of QNAP. The QXP-1600eS-A1164 can be used with QNAP SATA JBOD (supported from QTS 4.5.4 or QuTS hero h4.5.4), including setting RAID parameters and creating a storage pool using the Storage and Snapshots app. When the QXP-1600eS-A1164 is installed in a Windows or Ubuntu device, the QNAP JBOD Manager desktop utility can be used to quickly obtain and view information about the JBOD status, health, fan speed, and check for firmware updates.

SilverStone today unveiled the CS351, a unique Micro-ATX case that lets you build a gaming or creation PC with hot-swappable storage, or a DIY NAS. This case is significantly larger than typical 5-bay NAS you find in the market, but that's because it packs room for a fully-fledged Micro-ATX setup, including room for a high-end triple-slot graphics card up to 36.8 cm in length. For creators, this means room for a top-grade Quadro RTX or Radeon PRO graphics card; for gamers it means room for any air-cooled RTX 3090 or RX 6900 XT.

The most striking feature has to be the five 3.5-inch hot-swappable lockable caddies, each with SATA 6 Gbps backplanes (optionally SAS 12 Gbps). The cage is ventilated from the inside with an 80 mm fan, and uses a 4-pin Molex input for power. Each of the 5 bays has an individual SATA 6 Gbps connection to your motherboard. Internal bays include one 2.5-inch mount, or the ability to mount up to seven 2.5-inch drives by eating into the room meant for graphics cards. Active ventilation includes three 40 mm rear exhausts, two 80 mm top exhausts, and an internal 80 mm conveyor for the 5-bay drive cage. Measuring 265 mm (W) x 209 mm (H) x 411 mm (D), the case weighs about 5 kg. The company didn't reveal pricing.

TechPowerUp and KIOXIA come together to bring you a change to win one of three KIOXIA Exceria client SSDs. The Exceria range of SSDs span 2.5-inch SATA and M.2 NVMe form-factors, and combine KIOXIA's in-house BiCS flash memory, and the legacy of being the inventors of flash memory. Up for grabs are a KIOXIA Exceria Plus G2 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSD, a KIOXIA Exceria 1 TB M.2 NVMe SSD, and a KIOXIA Exceria SATA 960 GB SSD. The Giveaway is open worldwide (wherever legal), entries close on January 9, 2022. To participate, simply fill up a brief form to help us get back to you if you've won. All the best!

For more information and to participate, visit this page.

Demand for NAND Flash products will undergo a noticeable and cyclical downward correction in 1Q22 as major smartphone brands wind down their procurement activities for the peak season and ODMs prepare for the New Year holidays, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. As such, the NAND Flash market will remain in an oversupply situation, with prices continuing to undergo downward corrections accordingly. However, PC OEMs have been reinstating certain orders for client SSDs since early November in response to improvements in the supply of upstream semiconductor materials. By fulfilling these orders, suppliers are able to keep their inventory level relatively low, meaning they are not under as much pressure as previously expected to reduce inventory by lowering prices. Taking these factors into account, TrendForce expects NAND Flash ASP to undergo a 10-15% QoQ decline in 1Q22, during which NAND Flash prices will experience the most noticeable declines compared to the other quarters in 2022.

Regarding the price trend of NAND Flash products across the whole 2021, TrendForce further indicates that suppliers have actively transitioned their output to higher-layer technologies, resulting in a bit supply growth that noticeably outpaces demand, though the tight supply of components such as controller ICs and PMICs has constrained the production of NAND Flash end-products. Hence, the decline in contract prices of NAND Flash products has not been as severe as previously expected. Moving ahead to 2022, however, the supply of relevant components is expected to gradually improve, so the market for various NAND Flash products will also likely shift towards a noticeable oversupply. As a result, prices of NAND Flash products will steadily decline before the arrival of the peak season in 3Q22.

Back in June, NVM Express, Inc announced the NVMe 2.0 specification, which included support for mechanical drives, also known as hard disk drives. Seagate has now demoed the first implementation of NVMe 2.0 on a HDD and is targeting market availability sometime in 2024. You might wonder why anyone would want an NVMe equipped hard drive and the short answer is that it's intended for the server space.

One of the key reasons that Seagate is even considering this, is because of its multi-actuator drives, which the company is expecting to surpass the interface speed of 12 Gbps SAS in the future. In addition to this, it makes sense having a single storage interface on servers, which allows for a mixed storage drive environment, where some drive bays can be fitted with SSDs and others with NVMe based hard drives. Seagate is planning to sample key customers with early drives in September 2022 and final drives will be backwards compatible with SATA and SAS.

Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced TrendForce has named it as the number one supplier of SSDs in the channel for all of 2020. According to TrendForce, Kingston accounted for a whopping 27 percent of the 111.5 million units shipped in 2020.

With the emergence of COVID-19 in 2020, TrendForce reported a 15% YoY decrease in annual SSD shipments to the channel and severe delays in manufacturing and logistics resulting in a sudden decline in order volumes. Yet, findings show through Kingston's global strategy for sourcing components, the company was well ahead of its competitors considering a global pandemic and looming chip shortage. The results reinforced Kingston as the clear leader in SSD production, as the second-place supplier accounted for only 8 percent of the total channel market. As a category, third-party suppliers (non-semiconductor) SSD makers accounted for 35% of the total shipments in 2020.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic led to severe delays in manufacturing and logistics. In particular, governments worldwide began implementing border restrictions in 2Q20 to combat the ongoing health crisis, leading to a sudden decline in order volumes for channel-market SSDs, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Annual shipment of SSDs to the channel (retail) market reached 111.5 million units in 2020, a 15% YoY decrease. In terms of market share by shipment, Kingston, ADATA, and Kimtigo once again occupied the top three spots, respectively.

Looking at the channel market for SSDs as a whole, NAND Flash suppliers (among which Samsung possessed the largest market share) accounted for around 35% of the total shipments in 2020, while SSD module makers accounted for the other 65%. The top 10 module makers accounted for 71% of channel-market SSD shipments from all SSD module makers. Taken together, these figures show that the market remained relatively oligopolistic in 2020. However, it should be noted that TrendForce's ranking of SSD module makers for 2020 takes account of only products bound for the channel market and under brands owned by the module makers themselves; NAND Flash suppliers were therefore excluded from the top 10 ranking.

ATP Electronics, a global leader in specialized storage and memory solutions, has announced that its A600Sc Series serial ATA solid state drives (SATA SSDs) have been successfully qualified for compatibility and interoperability with Adaptec Smart Storage PCIe Gen 4 Tri-Mode SmartRAID 3200, SmartHBA 2200, and HBA 1200 Smart Storage adapters.

Designed for storage platforms in next-generation data centers, the Adaptec PCIe Gen 4 SAS/SATA/NVMe HBA and RAID tri-mode adapters deliver significantly higher performance through PCIe Gen 4 x16 CPU interfaces as well as SAS and SATA storage. The new offerings simplify integration and provide flexibility to aggregate diverse storage devices with Microchip's proven security and manageability features for the most demanding server storage applications.

A lightweight M.2 SSD is a great way to add significant performance gains to any laptop or PC workstation. Silicon Power (SP) is releasing a new enclosure that will give your SSD the ability to not only achieve these gains but also take it wherever you go. The PD60 turns your M.2 M-key NVMe or SATA SSD into a portable hard drive for whenever and wherever you need it. Transfer data rapidly up to 10 Gbps via its USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface with the included Type-C to Type-C cable. It's also backwards-compatible with USB 3.1/3.0/2.0 at their respective speed limits.

The aluminium body is durable enough to protect your SSD, yet light enough to toss in your bag and hardly notice it, making it the perfect travel companion. It also provides superior heat dissipation, which is further enhanced by its slide design, allowing excess heat to escape when the cover is removed.

The ToughArmor MB924IP-B supports 24 x 2.5" SAS/SATA SSD/HDD up to 7 mm in height and only uses 3x 5.25" device bays. It has 6x MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) connectors in the rear to support 24 x drives with up to 12 Gbps transfer speed per drive, significantly reducing the cable clutter to improve system airflow and offer easy cable management. The large 80 mm fan with 3-Mode fan speed control working along with intelligently placed ventilation holes keeps your drives in optimal temperature. To further improve reliability and security, the housing and trays are made with ruggedized full metal construction to ensure long-lasting durability. Moreover, with the removable EZ-Slide Nano trays, you can interchange drives within seconds without open the PC case.

MB924IP-B connects 24 x 2.5" SAS/SATA SSD/HDD with only 6x MiniSAS HD (SFF-8643) & 6x SATA 15 pin power connector for easy cable management and better system airflow. These are essential for high-performance PC builds. The MB924IP-B supports data transfer speed up to 12 Gbps per SAS drive and 6 Gbps per SATA drive.